Hispanic Couple from Cicero Win Wedding of Their Dreams

Received 69% of online votes

For Immediate Release

Contact: Tracy Owens (312) 793-1682 (office) (312) 590-9933 (cell)

Chicago—June 23, 2009—Dalila Ochoa and Renato Lázaro from Cicero, Ill., were the winners of the Illinois Lottery’s second chance promotion “The Wedding of Your Dreams.” The promotion awarded the winner with a $25,000 all-inclusive wedding package and cash prizes in the amounts of $3,000 and $1,500 to the second and third place finalists. When the voting officially closed at telemundochicago.com, Dalila and Renato had garnered 69 percent of the votes. The other two couples, Therese and Brad and Bryce and Kathy, received 22 percent and 9 percent of the votes respectively.

Renato had encouraged Dalila to participate along with him, and it was her ticket that got them a spot as one of the three finalists. As soon as they found out that they were in the running, Dalila and Renato campaigned for votes with family, friends, fellow students, co-workers and neighbors.

Dalila, who works at a bank, says that some of her customers recognized her and promised to vote for them. Now, with the help of an experienced wedding planner, they can concentrate on choosing their rings, gowns, tuxedos, color scheme, flowers, and other important items so they will be ready for the June 27th wedding day.

“We are ecstatic,” said Dalila. “It has all been like a dream, but it’s already a reality.”

Thérese and Brad, one of the other finalist couples offered their congratulations to Dalila and Renato and wished them happiness in their future life.

“The Illinois Lottery is all about making dreams come true. We are thrilled to be able to give this wonderful young couple the wedding of their dreams,” said Jodie Winnett, Acting Superintendent for the Illinois Lottery. “We thank them for making the Illinois Lottery part of their celebration and wish them the best in their future life together.”

Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has contributed over $18 billion to the state’s Common School Fund to assist K-12 public schools, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to the Capital Projects Fund and to special causes like Illinois Veterans, the fight against breast cancer, MS research, and assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to playing in-store, the Illinois Lottery offers online and mobile play for Mega Millions, Powerball and Lotto at www.illinoislottery.com. Players must be at least 18 years old.

Play Responsibly. Must be 18 or older to play. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537). For more info or to exclude yourself call 1-800-252-1775.

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